I am a minister, photographer, retreat leader, author and Quaker -- albeit one who's not always good at being a good Quaker. I am the author of "Awaken Your Senses," "Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality," "Mind the Light: Learning to See with Spiritual Eyes" and "Sacred Compass: The Path of Spiritual Discernment" (foreword by Richard Foster).
This blog is a compendium of writing, photography, seriousness and silliness -- depending on my mood.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Grace

When the young professor foldedhis hands at dinner and spoke to Godabout my safe arrivalthrough the snow, thanking Him alsofor the food we were about to eat,it was in the tone of voice I useto speak to friends when I calland get their answering machines,chatting about this and thatin a casual voice,picturing them listeningbut too busy to pick up the phone,or out taking care of importantbusiness somewhere else.The next day, flying homethrough a windyand overwhelming sky, I knewI envied his rapport with Godand hoped his prayerswould keep my plane aloft.

Friday, May 23, 2014

My friend Jana Llewellyn recently wrote "The Bible says that the Jews are God’s chosen people. Author Anne Lamott says that the Presbyterians are God’s frozen people. I decided last week that the religious sect I’m a part of, Quakers (also called The Religious Society of Friends), are God’s weird people.

That means I’m weird, too."

That means I'm weird, too -- which is a badge I'll add to my "bad" badge. Not bad as in "evil," but bad as in not being very good at being a good Quaker.

Jana offers seven tips to help us deal with the not so good weirdness we Quakers sometimes experience/demonstrate --

First and foremost, we need to live a life that focuses on a deep inward connection to God.

Second, each of us needs a personal and daily practice of communing with God.

Third, stop talking about being Quaker.Stop navel-gazing.Reach out.

Fourth, cut your beard.

Fifth, humbly minister to other Quakers.

Sixth. Get out of the past.

Seventh: Look for the best in everyone you meet.

This essay is warm, quirky, funny, biting, and helpful. Every Quaker and every Friends meeting should read the whole thing -- which you can here: God's Weird People

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape
you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life. James 1:21 (The
Message)

This morning I
bring my Bible, journal, and cup of tea into the garden. A light mist hangs
over the fields across the road, and I am surprised to see tender green shoots
of corn forming rows where yesterday there was nothing but dirt. All around me,
Dame’s Rocket thrusts purple and white spires toward the skies like holy hands
reaching toward heaven. Boxwood shimmers greenly in the breeze, and a yellow
weed at the fence line bursts into flame as a sunbeam peeks through the clouds.

The words of Psalm
63, my reading this morning, reverberate through my mind. “O God, thou art my
God, I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh faints for thee, as in a
dry and weary land where no water is.”

In the sanctuary
of this garden the desert landscape of my heart—that dry and dusty place where
worry and anxiety about my son, Joel, who has autism, sometimes threaten to
overwhelm me—turns to an oasis of green, flowing with streams of living water.
Prayer rises up within me as praise.

No wonder poets
and songwriters often refer to the garden as a metaphor for prayer.

And yet,
gardens are not always lush and beautiful. Think of the garden in the midst of
drought. Parched plants wilt. Green leaves turn to brown. What was abounding in
exuberance just weeks before suddenly sags under the weight of cloudless skies
with no promise of rain in sight. Nothing will revive the drought-stricken
garden like a soft, gentle, soaking rain.

It is no
different for the gardens of our hearts. Sometimes, in the words of my son Joel
at the end of a major melt-down, “We need Jesus!”

As the
mother of a son with autism, I was first drawn more deeply into prayer because
of an intense thirst for God’s presence. I was desert-thirsty, parched for the
living waters Jesus promises in John 4:14: “.
. . but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never
thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life.”

The more I spend time with God the more the garden of my
heart blooms with an unquenchable love for the things of the Spirit. I need
God’s presence just as my garden needs the rain.

Take some time today
to be quiet and meet with God. Listen to what rises up from within. Have a
conversation with God. You may have questions to ask Him. Ask, expecting to
receive an answer. Tell Him what’s on your heart. Be honest with Him. Bare your
vulnerable places. And then, once you’ve emptied your heart, simply listen. He
has much to say to you.

Lord, I thank you and praise you
for your living waters. Open me up, Lord. Open me up to your thirst-quenching
presence. Water me, Lord. Water me.

·Where do you most often meet God? Nature? Bible
study? Service? Worship? Journaling?

·How might you establish a pattern of going there
to pray on a consistent basis?

·In what way do you most often pray? Do you feel
“pot-bound”? Might God be calling you to a new prayer avenue?

·What kind of prayer will help you more often to
be aware of Jesus’ presence with you?

Join Kathy at a free webinar: The Spiritual Art of Raising Children with Disabilities: Learning to Let Go and “Be” - Thursday, May 22nd, at 1 pm. If you can’t attend at that time, register and participate at your leisure. You are promised an hour of rest and refreshment using art, music, and Scripture. Sign up here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/381076121

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One lucky reader will a free copy of this good book. To enter the contest, all you have to do is leave a comment about the blog post or leave a question for Kathy about the book. You'll have until Wednesday evening at 8:00 to be entered into a drawing to win the book. To enter, you must leave an email address with your comment (so I can contact you to get your mailing address for the book!). Books can only be send to addresses in the United States and Canada.

To support that, Judson Press is going to give one lucky reader a free copy of this good book. To enter the contest, all you have to do is leave a comment about the blog post or leave a question for Kathy about the book. You'll have until Wednesday evening at 8:00 to be entered into a drawing to win the book. To enter, you must leave an email address with your comment (so I can contact you to get your mailing address for the book!). Books can only be send to addresses in the United States and Canada.

About Me

I'm a Quaker who's just not very good at being a good Quaker -- I'm not always who aren't always peaceable, humble, kind, loving, truthful like someone who is a Friend should be. I'm also an author, minister, retreat leader, and photographer and I live in rural Indiana.